Integration of Mental Health in Primary Care

Healthcare reform under the Accountable Care Act is spurring efforts by many healthcare systems to find ways to make mental health care more accessible to children and families. Because of the shortage of mental health specialists and other barriers (including costs), many healthcare systems and healthcare leaders are recognizing that delivering children's mental health services within primary care settings is both desirable and necessary. Various terms are used to describe primary care mental health integration strategies, such as "Collaborative Care", "Integrated Behavioral Health," and even "Patient-Centered Medical Care", which often overlaps with the requirement that primary care systems use methods that put patients' needs first. In pediatric primary care settings, multiple studies have now shown that the health domain that results in the greatest impairment and disability is the mental health domain.